1547 – Fifteen Knights of the Bath made at Tower of London at the coronation of Edward VI.

1552 – Eleven knights made by Duke of Norfolk, Lord Treasurer.

1554 – Fifty-eight knights made in Scotland by Earl of Hertford, the King’s Lieutenant General.

1558 – Eighteen knights of the Bath made at the coronation of Elizabeth.

1560 – Twelve knights dubbed at Barwick by the Duke of Norfolk.

Many Knights were made during the various Royal Progresses of Elizabeth I.

17th century knights chronology

Monarchs

Elizabeth – Died March 1603

James I – Succeeded 24 March 1603

Charles I – Succeeded 27 March 1625

Charles II – Succeeded 30 January 1649 (de jure)

Oliver Cromwell – As Protector from 16 December 1653

Richard Cromwell – From 3 September 1658

Charles II – Restored 29 May 1660

James II – Succeeded 6 February 1685, fled 11 December 1688

Interregnum – 11 December 1688-12 February 1689

William and Mary – Succeeded 13 February 1689 (Mary died 28 December 1694)

Events

24 March 1603 – Queen Elizabeth died

28 March 1603 – Sir John Payton, first knight made by King James, dubbed at Edinburgh

17 July 1603 – General summons for all persons that had £40 in lands to come and receive the honour of knighthood or compound. The list of 23 July must be in response to this; the majority attended according to the summons and on that day some 427 persons were dubbed, at least 350 of them in the royal garden at Whitehall before the King’s coronation on 25 July.

25 July 1603 – King James I, on the occasion of his coronation, made 62 Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath (KB). He also made 430 Knights Bachelor (Kt Bach) at Whitehall.

6 January 1604/5 – Twelve KBs created on the occasion of Prince Charles’ creation as Duke of York

2 June 1610 – Twenty-six KBs created on the occasion of Prince Henry’s creation as Prince of Wales at Whitehall

27 March 1625 – King James I died

12 April 1625 – Sire Morris Abbotts, Alderman of London, first knight made by King Charles I at Whitehall

1 February 1626 – Fifty-nine KBs made on the occasion of the coronation of King Charles I

21 May 1638 – Five KBs made with Prince Charles as preparatory to him receiving the Order of the Garter

30 January 1649 – Charles I executed, Charles II succeeds de jure

1650-51 – Nineteen Kts Bach made by Charles II in Scotland

1653-58 – Thirty-six Kts Back made by Oliver Cromwell

1655 – Sir Andrew Ramsay of Abbotshall, Scotland, apparently knighted twice as he is again recorded as being dubbed 17 July 1660; he was made a baronet in 1669.

1658 – Two Kts Bach made by Richard Cromwell

1660 – List compiled of 687 names of persons who were fit and qualified for knighthood in the proposed Knights of The Royal Oak. Charles intended the order to be a reward to his followers who supported him while he was exiled in France. It was, however, thought better to lay it aside so as not to open old wounds.

23 April 1661 – Sixty-nine KBs made on the occasion of King Charles II’s coronation

7 November 1665 – First London Gazette published.

Henry, Viscount Falkland, holds the record for the greatest number of nights made by a Chief Governor of Ireland. He was Lord Deputy from September 1622 to October 1629 and he made a total of 83 knights. A close second was Robert, Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant, who during a span of four months in 1599 made 81 knights. Such staggering numbers drew the attention, and outrage, of Queen Elizabeth, who went so far as to issue a proclamation invalidating 38 of those knighthoods. However, knighthoods cannot be unmade by such a proclamation.

Whenever the Sovereign sets foot in Ireland, the functions of the Chief Governor cease. Richard II, James II, William III, George IV, Victoria, and Edward VII have all dubbed knights in Ireland.

18th century knights chronology

It is estimated that 1,200 individuals were knighted in the 18th century.

Monarchs

William III – Mary had died in 1694

Anne – Succeeded 8 March 1701/2

George I – Succeeded 1 August 1714

George II – Succeeded 11 June 1727

George III – Succeeded 25 October 1760

Events

31 December 1703 – Knight Companion of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (KT Order) revived by Queen Anne

18 May 1725 – Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath (up to 1815), abbreviated as KB, revived by George I. There were 37 original KBs invested 27 May and installed 17 June.

27 May 1725 – Prince William Augustus, second son of the Prince of Wales, was the first KB appointed on revival of the order. He later became Duke of Cumberland.

30 September 1765 – Sir James Taylor, Lord Mayor of Dublin, knighted by the Lord Justices of Ireland – being the last knighthood conferred by such office holder.

1 June 1777 – Robert Chambers, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at Fort William in Bengal, created Knight Bachelor (Kt Bach) by patent, the first creation by this method.

Persons who conferred knighthoods on behalf of the sovereign in the 18th century

Lord Lieutenants of Ireland

James Duke of Ormonde – 1703-07

Thomas, Earl of Wharton – 1708-10

James, Duke of Ormonde – 1710-1713

Charles, Viscount Townshend – 1717-17

Charles, Duke of Grafton – 1720-24

Lionel, Earl of Dorset – 1730-37

William, Duke of Devonshire – 1737-45

William, Earl of Harrington – 1746-50

Lionel, Duke of Dorset – 1750-55

William, Marquess of Hartington (late Duke of Devonshire) – 1755-57

John, Duke of Bedford – 1757-61

George, Earl of Halifax – 1761-63

George, Viscount Townshend – 1767-72

Simon, Earl of Harcourt – 1772-76

John, Earl of Buckingham – 1776-80

John, Earl of Westmoreland – 1789-94

William, Earl Fitzwilliam – 1794-95

John, Earl of Camden – 1795-98

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Sir Constantine Phipps – 1711-14

Governors General of Fort William in Bengal (Regulating Act of 1773)

Warren Hastings – 20 October 1774

Earl (Marquess Cornwallis) – 8 February 1785

Sir John Shore (Lord Teignmouth) – 12 September 1786

Sir John Macpherson (temp) – 28 October 1793

Sir A Clarke (temp) – 17 March 1798

Earl of Mornington (Marquess Wellesley) – 18 May 1798

The following were entrusted with the investing of grantees of British Orders of Knighthood outside the British Isles

19th century knights chronology

1814 – Sir Thomas, Lord Cochrane KB degraded, succeeded his father as Earl in 1831 and was granted a free pardon in 1832, created GCB in 1847.

2 January 1815 – Order of the Bath enlarged and re-modelled to 72 Knights Grand Cross (GCB) and to 180 Knights Companion (KCB). This number included all existing KBs who automatically became GCBs. Of this group of 72, twelve belonged to the Civil Division and 60 to the Military Division.

1816 – General Sir Eyre Coote KB degraded by Royal Warrant dated 25 July for dishonourable conduct; he died in 1823. (There is no statue that authorises the total deprivation of a knighthood; a person can only be degraded from an order of chivalry.)

30 October 1819 – Thomas Gret, physician apparently dubbed twice, first by Earl Talbot, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and again on 30 November 1819 by the Prince Regent.

16 May 1820 – Admiral Thomas Pakenham created GCB, however, later it was discovered that he had never been knighted, so he was dubbed Knight Bachelor on 20 August.

12 August-5 September 1821 – King George IV in Ireland

19 August 1843 – James Dombrain, Inspector General of Coastguards in Ireland, supposedly made a Knight Banneret in consequence of having been knighted under the Royal Standard, dubbed on board a cruiser in Kingston harbour.

13 July 1857 – Four Australian Knights created by Letters Patent.

28 July 1897 – King Alphonso XIII of Spain, born in 1886, was created a GCVO (Hon) when only 11 years old.

Persons who conferred knighthoods on behalf of the sovereign in the 19th century